Underwriters Laboratories Standard 325

October 29, 2012

UL 325 Standard

The Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is a not-for-profit organization that is the leading third-party certification organization in North America. UL’s primary mission is to evaluate products in the interest of public safety.

UL standards are voluntary standards that establish minimum requirements. These standards are developed in an open, non-exclusionary process which means that any interested party can participate in their development. On top of that, some UL standards undergo a canvass (ballot) process in order to obtain recognition as American National Standards.

What is the UL 325 Standard?

UL 325 started as a standard focused on the electric operation of garage doors. In the mid 1990’s electric gate operators where included into the UL 325 standard and over the following years government agencies and other interest groups have monitored the standard’ progress, providing input on the final format of the standard that relates to gate operators. The current edition of UL 325 is the Fifth Edition, dated June 7, 2002.

Highlights of the UL 325 include:

A glossary defining types of operators,

Classification of operators,

Entrapment protection criteria for each class,

Entrapment alarm criteria,

Requirements for gate construction and installation.

Installation of warning signs

All UL 325 compliant gates must have as a minimum, a primary and a secondary entrapment protection system.

Entrapment protection system types:

Inherent

Non-contact sensor

Contact sensor

Adjustable clutch or pressure relief

Continuous pressure actuating device

Audio alarm

What is allowed as an acceptable primary and secondary device depends on the classification of the gate in question.

Gate Operator Classifications:

Residential (one to four single family dwellings)

Commercial usage with general public access

Industrial usage with limited public access

Industrial usage with restricted public access

All gate operator classes must have both a primary and a secondary entrapment provision; where the secondary entrapment system is a different type then the first. What is allowed to be used for each depends on the operator classification.

There are also provisions in the UL325 standard regarding gate operators that describe what should happen in the event of different scenarios resulting from entrapment device activations. For example, an audio alarm should sound in the event of two sequential activations of entrapment protection if the gate has public access.

This is just an overview of the UL325 standard. It is our recommendation that every new gate should be installed in compliance with this standard. We would also advise that existing gates should be inspected to determine whether are [still] in compliance.